Answer: A man who knows he operates in a culture of impunity by dint of his money and power. Crews says he didn’t beat the guy to a pulp partly because he didn’t want his career to be over and partly because few people would have believed his story afterward. They’d believe him now.

This whole thing with Harvey Weinstein is giving me PTSD. Why? Because this kind of thing happened to ME. (1/Cont.)

There’s more on his Twitter feed. If you find it unlikely that a Hollywood bigwig would think he could get away with something that brazen in a public place, you need to read Rebecca Traister’s story of an encounter between her, her boyfriend, and one Harvey Weinstein at a book party in 2000. Quote:

Weinstein didn’t like my question about [a film he was producing], there was an altercation; though the recording has alas been lost to time, I recall that he called me a cunt and declared that he was glad he was the “fucking sheriff of this fucking lawless piece-of-shit town.” When my colleague Andrew (who was also then my boyfriend) intervened, first calming him down and then trying to extract an apology, Weinstein went nuclear, pushing Andrew down a set of steps inside the Tribeca Grand — knocking him over with such force that his tape recorder hit a woman, who suffered long-term injury — and dragging Andrew, in a headlock, onto Sixth Avenue.

Such was the power of Harvey Weinstein in 2000 that despite the dozens of camera flashes that went off on that sidewalk that night, capturing the sight of an enormously famous film executive trying to pound in the head of a young newspaper reporter, I have never once seen a photo.

As of 5 p.m. ET new stories about Weinstein are still trickling out. The latest comes from Heather Graham, who says she met with Weinstein in his office 15 or so years ago and was told “I want to put you in one of my movies.” He then casually mentioned that his wife lets him sleep with whoever he wants whenever he’s out of town. Graham didn’t take him up on his apparent offer and never did appear in one of his films. It seems safe to assume at this point that this guy tried to extract sex from every young actress he encountered, sometimes through quid pro quo arrangements, sometimes through veiled or unveiled threats, sometimes allegedly through actual physical force. Given how long his career lasted and how many movies he made — and remember, Graham was reportedly propositioned *without* ever appearing in one of his movies — we’re talking about hundreds or possibly thousands of women whom he may have coerced via harassment, intimidation, or even rape.

And no one knew. Or so they say.

Speaking of which, if you’re looking to keep tabs on this story on social media, one person you’ll want to be sure to monitor is actress Rose McGowan, who was named in the original NYT story about Weinstein last week as having reached a settlement with him after an “episode” in a hotel room years ago. McGowan had been circumspect in what she said about Weinstein in the past, no doubt due to a clause in their agreement, but she’s been unleashed this week — and not just at him:

This started with Weinstein but it won’t end with him. May the enablers burn.

Update: A friend who works in and around Hollywood made this same point to me privately today. It’s astute:

Gwyneth’s parents are Hollywood elite, her godfather is Spielberg, and he pulled this shit. Her boyfriend was Brad Pitt. Imagine all the people who didn’t know anyone in this town. https://t.co/ekU44WAeYd

Right, and Angelina Jolie is Jon Voight’s daughter — and Weinstein allegedly made an unwanted move on her too. That’s how sure he was that he’d face no repercussions. Paltrow and Jolie may have had enough industry connections of their own that Weinstein decided to take “no” for an answer when they rebuffed him rather than press his luck. Most women he encountered wouldn’t have been in that position.